Makoto
by Emstarry
Summary: The child of two of the Planet's saviors had been kidnapped by Shinra. Yuffentine, Cloti, CidxShera. Postgame. Disregards AC and DOC. Incomplete.
1. Chapter 1

"Valentine," President Rufus Shinra addressed the fidgety teen. "Relax."

"My apologies, President," the dark-haired teenager responded, anxiety evident in his words. "It's just, this is my first _real_ mission."

"You'll do fine," Rufus remarked with stoic assuredness. "You come from a prestigious bloodline, and with your remarkable Mako and Jenova infusions, you're practically invincible."

The compliments from his superior seemed to ease the teen. "Thank you, President."

Rufus nodded solemnly. "Get going now."

The teen nodded and headed off.

--

"A briefing on the mission," a nasally pewter-eyed Turk began. "There's some terrorist group threatening Shinra. We're supposed to," the man made a gesture with his hand and fist, "ka-pow. Seems pretty lame to me, but hey, a job's a job." The man flicked back a chestnut bang.

The Turk lit up a cigarette, glancing at his assigned partner curiously. "Yo, kid, the name's Salem."

The addressed teen gave an acknowledging nod. "I'm Makoto."

"Makoto, eh? You're that little bigshot, huh, kiddo?" Salem gave a hoarse chuckle. "This your first time out?" At Makoto's nod, the Turk continued. "I heard some pretty wild tales about you. That you're wicked strong, especially for your age. How old are ya, kid?"

"I'm fourteen," Makoto responded a bit forcedly.

"Jesus Christ on a cracker, buddy. And hey, you're not looking too swell…" Salem noticed the green hue his comrade seemed to be turning.

"Mm… motion sickness…" Makoto answered a bit weakly. "Sorry to let you down, but I ain't no bigshot, just some lost little kid with unnatural capabilities."

"Don't be so hard on yourself, kid," Salem said with a drag on his cigarette. "You're a top rank Shinra employee, that oughtta mean somethin'."

Makoto snorted. "Employee…" he remarked with sarcastic disdain. "I was kidnapped from my hometown when I was five. They burned my hometown, Wutai, to the ground. Shinra has been raising me for the last nine years, trying to create some super-being they can control… I'm totally helpless to them. It seems they've finally decided they could let me out for a bit…" Makoto sighed in a defeated manner.

"That's some tough shit, kid. Wanna light?" The Turk offered the teen a cigarette. "It'll help the nerves."

"Sure," Makoto accepted, taking the stick, lighting it with a mumbled, "Fire."

"You're a pretty nifty kid, Makoto," Salem said with a grin. "I got a feeling we'll get along dandy."

--

The Turk and the teenager walked along the roads of Midgar.

"The terrorist group is reportedly along Midgar somewhere." Salem gave an almost pitying sigh. "When will all these retards learn? Ya can't beat Shinra. It's damn impossible."

"You don't sound too happy about the fact," Makoto observed keenly. "Hey, Salem, why are you with Shinra?"

Salem gave a reckless grin. "The money," he answered shortly. "Got to stay alive, right? I had the skills, decided to make them useful. I don't exactly agree with Shinra, but hey, they're keepin' me alive, so I can't complain much."

"I see," Makoto whispered softly.

"Ay, so the terrorists happen to be a lot of blond kids… some others, too. This whole deal seems like a load of BS to me, but Rufus finds it awfully important, so yea. It's the big cheese's opinion that counts, eh, buck-o?"

"SHINRA!" a young blond teen yelled, running to the two Shinra employees with a sword. "You bastards are going down!" He ran towards Makoto with his sword, the raven-haired teen dodging swiftly.

"I know you," Makoto spoke abruptly.

"Huh?" the blond attacker asked, dumbfounded. He dropped his weapon to the ground.

Salem tensed as if readying to attack. Makoto held up his arm to hold off the Turk.

"Zack. Zack Strife." Makoto looked to the other teen.

"I… I can't believe it! You're…" Zack's face drained of its color, he turning to Makoto.

"Makoto Valentine," the dark-haired boy finished.

"Makoto! No effing way! Vincent and Yuffie… your parents said you died! We all thought…we all thought we lost you, Makoto!"

"Tch," Makoto remarked with annoyance. "Died? How absurd. I… I can't die. I am the spawn of Chaos. I have Lifestream in my blood. My parents knows that. It's… their fault."

"Makoto," Zack spoke with a bit of forlornness. "They really love you."

"Sure," Makoto spat. He bore slight resentment towards his parents, for they allowed him to be taken captive and agonizingly tortured, passing it off as a cheap death.

The momentary silence was shattered by Makoto's commanding voice.

"Salem," Makoto spoke, "I'm not going back."

"I understand," Salem replied a bit nervously. "But… what am I to tell Rufus?"

"I…" Makoto was at a loss. "I just… decided not to return."

"Shit, kid!" Salem answered angrily. "I'm going to get killed."

It would've been of Makoto's nature to just shrug, but he was fond of Salem.

"You have to go back?" Makoto eyed the Turk curiously.

"No duh, kid!" Salem answered. "I'm an accomplished Turk, and whether this is the kind of work I want to do or not, hell, I'm actually _accomplished_ at something for once! This is big to me, real big, sorry, buddy."

"I understand," Makoto replied softly. "But… I'm just not going back, so you're pretty SOL when it comes to the president, I assume."

"Yea," Salem replied, chuckling a bit. "Well, bye, Makoto. You're a real nice kid, maybe we'll meet up again."

"Yea," Makoto answered quietly. "Hey, wait, so what're you gonna do about the mission?"

"Hm," Salem answered thoughtfully. "Too tough. They gotcha. Major baddies."

"Sounds great… but will they come after us?" Makoto looked to Salem worriedly.

"Most likely. Seems like you'll be pretty SOL."

Makoto chortled. "Dude, you're great. I'll miss ya, buddy."

"Ditto, kid." And with that, the nasally, chestnut-haired, pewter-eyed Turk set off, leaving Makoto to attend a reunion of sorts.

--

"Makoto! Makoto, it's really you!" a young, blonde-haired girl exclaimed, running to tackle the boy.

"Hold up sis, don't break 'im," Zack joked.

"Hmph!" The girl stuck her tongue out at her brother, hugging Makoto. She soon focused all of her attention on Makoto, giving him the biggest eyes she could muster. "Are you okay, Makoto?"

"I'm… fine, Aeris. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to worry you." Makoto sighed.

Aeris released the boy, noticing the pause before he replied with 'fine.'

"If you say so…" Aeris cast Makoto a worried look.

"Hey ya'll, we oughtta take Makoto to the hideout," Zack said.

"Who's all there?" Makoto inquired.

"Your parents, our parents, Barret, Marlene, Red XIII, Cait Sith, Cid, Shera, their kids Veronica and Erica, and… your little sister, Yuuki," Zack replied as casually as he could.

"Sister…?" Makoto gazed at the ground, suddenly nervous to return to his loved ones. _There's so much I must've missed in the last nine years…_

_--_

The Strife teenagers led him to the Seventh Heaven hideout, Makoto following behind them tentatively.

As Makoto walked into the hideout, a pair of stormy gray eyes snapped on him, followed by a gasp.

"MAKOTO!" the woman screamed, somewhat hysterically.

Makoto looked to the woman suddenly. "Mom?"

The woman rushed to Makoto, embracing him tightly.

"Oh my god… it's… my baby," Yuffie managed between sobs. "Makoto… it's you…"

"Yea mom, it's…" Makoto found it impossible to finish the sentence. He was overwhelmed by tears. "Momma… I've missed you so much."

Yuffie's scream had lured her husband into the room, he equally as shocked to see their supposedly dead son.

"Makoto…" Vincent uttered in disbelief. He embraced his son.

The still-sniffling Yuffie studied her child. He had certainly grown over the past nine years. He towered over her by a few good inches, and he was slim and slender. He wore black, tight-fitting attire plastered with the word "SHINRA" and a matching logo. He wore a red and black cape, the back adorned with the same Shinra logo. His chin-length hair was sleek and black. His eyes were a furious glowing garnet. The tell-tale sign of high levels of Mako exposure.

"Makoto!" Yuffie yelled. "Your eyes… they're…"

"Monstrous," the boy finished. "Nine years ago… the day of the fire… I was taken by Shinra."

Yuffie's tears began anew, and Vincent shook his head disgustedly.

"I was… experimented on. I've experienced lethal doses of Mako. They injected it into my blood every day. It was… agony. I also got Jenova treatment. I was infused with ghastly amounts of Jenova cells." Makoto took on a dark look. "Of course, I was not a blank tablet. My original sin of Mako and Jenova were strengthened. Shinra is still trying to create the perfect warrior. This time though, I believe it is merely superficial. They just want to see if they can do it. It is because of their selfishness and my weakness that I am a monster."

"You're not a monster." The solemn words left the lips of the former self-accused monster.

"It's those damn Shinra that are the monsters!" Yuffie cried.

"Thank you," Makoto replied softly. "And… Shinra will most definitely be looking for me. They will not let go of such a drain of money and resources."

"We'll beat them," Yuffie said with a determined look. "We will beat the bastards that took my baby."

A young girl of maybe six entered the room. She blinked her garnet eyes and asked, "Mommy? Daddy? Who's that?"

"Yuuki…" Yuffie began gently, quickly switching moods. "This is your big brother, Makoto."

* * *

**Author's Note:** This story just seemed to 'happen' and I was intrigued to where it was going. The story disregards Advent Children and Dirge of Cerberus, perhaps my own little sequel to the acclaimed PlayStation RPG. It's terribly incomplete and confusing to even myself at times, but hopefully its continuation will reveal more. Anyway, thank you for taking your time to read this. 

**Emstarry**


	2. Chapter 2

The young girl eyed Makoto curiously.

"But Mommy, I thought he was-"

"I'm fine," Makoto spoke briskly with a sigh.

"Oh…" Yuuki stepped towards Makoto tentatively. With a youthful softness Makoto seemed to lack, she held out her arms.

Taking the cue, Makoto crouched down to the girl's level and hugged her gently.

"Aww," Yuffie cooed, watching her two children with a bit of forlorn fondness.

For that instant in his younger sister's arms, Makoto didn't pay attention to the strife and peril he had faced in his lifetime; he was only focused on what was taking place at the moment.

--

It was nighttime. Makoto was sitting alone in a dark room. He closed his garnet hues sleepily, yet slumber wasn't his goal.

A light flipped on, Makoto's eyes snapping open in unison.

"Hey," a female voice spoke casually, her aqua eyes glancing at the boy in the room.

Makoto gave an acknowledging nod. "What do you want?"

"Mm, you're happy to see me, I can tell." The girl giggled. "I um… I don't know. I just… wanted to talk to you, that's all. Do a little catch up, ya know?"

Makoto turned away sulkily.

"…or not…" The girl sighed. "I'm sorry if I'm bothering you, Makoto."

"No, Aeris, it's not that… it's just…." Gloom tinged Makoto's words and Aeris could see the dismal, faraway look in his eyes.

Aeris sat next to him worriedly. She placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Are you okay?"

Makoto turned his head to face the girl, his expression that of a kicked puppy.

"No."

The word left his lips as a choked sob, the ex-Shinra employee finally reaching his breaking point. A salty droplet of materialized melancholy flowed down his porcelain cheek.

"I…" Makoto sniffled, his head pounding with the sense of his weakness. "I wasn't allowed to cry."

Aeris gave a sympathetic 'ah,' she trying her best to comfort the broken boy.

When he was finished with his bout of emotions, Makoto attempted to compose himself as best he could.

"Thank you," Makoto spoke gratefully, arising and leaving the room.

Watching the boy leave, Aeris faced a muddled confusion of thoughts, but she still managed to give a slight smile.

_He trusts me._

--

_Nine years ago…_ Makoto was in the midst of a dream. _Shinra…_

Nine years ago, Shinra had burned Wutai to the ground. Their motive was because Wutai hadn't surrendered to them.

"They shame this land with defeat, and then they expect to rule us? Absurd!" The words spoken by the ruler of Wutai, Lord Godo.

_Grandpa…_

Shinra was attempting to take control of every town on the Planet. World domination was the goal of the power company. A town that didn't surrender to Shinra faced the same fate as Wutai.

Makoto winced in his sleep, recollecting the intense flames.

Everything was completely engulfed in the fiery anger. Hope was merely a fantasy.

_I lived because…_ Makoto gave a 'tch,' in his slumber. _Shinra had me. I watched my memories die from the outside. No wonder everyone believed me as dead. I wouldn't have survived it. It's not their fault. _Makoto's dream consciousness was calming. _It's Shinra's fault._

--

Makoto sat alone upon a roof, his thoughts colliding. The disarray of his thoughts had him choose the easiest subject to think about: nothing.

"Hmm…" He crossed his arms sternly.

"Brother," voiced a small girl.

Makoto gave a slight flinch. _She's sneaky,_ he thought to himself with an internal smile. "What are you doing, Yuuki-chan?"

Yuuki plopped herself next to Makoto comfortably. "Oh, nothing, just trying to figure out what _you're_ doing!" She gave a cute giggle, her red eyes sparkling.

Makoto grinned, yet his eyes were blank. "I'm just attempting to get away from everything. Just have a little quiet time."

"I see," Yuuki said softly, but her expression soon turned anxious. "O-oh, am I bothering you?"

"You're fine."

"Goody," Yuuki replied with a childish, bright smile.

A moment passed as the two siblings sat beside each other, both reveling in the wonders of silence.

"Makoto?" Yuuki's young voice shattered the silence with a query.

"Mm?" Makoto turned to his younger sister, stoic, albeit curious.

"You're the best big brother ever." With that, Yuuki giggled and disappeared as elusively as she appeared.

Makoto knitted his brows in confusion, wondering what had prompted the girl to say that. He felt he was nowhere near deserving of that title.

Makoto gave a bit of a pout, and decided to leave his safe haven of silence.

--

"Oh, look, the boy's back from his lair," Cid Highwind joked, looking to the dark boy in the corner.

"Amusing," Makoto spoke flatly, not bothering to catch the pilot's glance.

"You're about as interesting as your old man." Cid sighed. "And I'll be damned, get out of that Shinra outfit. Ya traitorous brat."

"Stop knocking the boy, Pop," a blonde, pigtailed girl remarked. She turned to the boy with a familiar grin. "Hey, Makoto. Long time no see, eh? I hear you've been around for a bit, why didn't cha bother saying hey?" The girl laced her words with mock sadness masking her playfulness.

"I'm sorry, Ronnie," Makoto spoke sincerely. "My apologies."

"Haha, the cutie remembers me!" Veronica stated triumphantly. She gave a bit of a victory spin, smiling a toothy grin at her old friend.

"I remember everyone," Makoto spoke in his matter-of-fact manner.

"So ya tryin' to say I shouldn't feel special?" Veronica's lower lip quivered.

"No, no, feel as special as you'd like." Makoto grinned slyly, matching Veronica.

"Ah, I see how you are, ya little hottie!" She grinned at him flirtatiously. "Hey, Makoto, why don't me and you go out for a bit, yanno?" Veronica's eyes twinkled.

"Sounds… fun," Makoto answered, the word 'fun' foreign to him.

"Yea, buddy, you seem like you need a bit more fun in your life. Weird, I always thought them hot guys were the shit when it comes to having fun." Veronica laughed. "Mmhm, we can getcha a new outfit so Daddy can stop his whinin', though ya know he'll just find something else."

Makoto nodded his trademark solemn nod.

"Ey, so it's a date!" Veronica grabbed Makoto's arm and led him off.

--

"Mm, I love shopping!" Veronica exclaimed joyously. "Don't you, cutie?"

"…I suppose," Makoto responded, his answer delayed by a short pause.

"Well, c'mon then, we're gonna have so much fun!" Veronica led Makoto to a clothing shop. "Hmm, I think I got the perfect look for ya."

Veronica picked out a tight-fitting black tee screened with a red rose dripping blood.

"Elegant and dark. So you," Veronica spoke affectionately. She continued looking through the clothes, finding black drainpipe jeans. "There's only a handful of guys on this Planet who can pull off drainpipes, and I got a feelin' that you're one of 'em." She continued looking and found a black cape, black fingerless leather gloves, and black boots. "Perfect." Veronica surveyed her finds with satisfied eyes.

As she was heading to the checkout, she caught notice of a black chain necklace with a crimson cross. Her eyes lit up instantly. "Even more perfect!"

"Ronnie?" Makoto asked timidly. "Are you buying all this?"

"Yea, boy, and it ain't a problem. Daddy gives me lotsa gil." Veronica laughed. "Just to get outta his hair, yanno? It's great, man."

"I see," Makoto said with a tinge of amusement in his voice.

Veronica paid for the items and immediately had Makoto head back to the dressing room and change.

When the boy was done and had stepped out of the room, Veronica gazed at him. "Stunning," she mouthed.

Makoto gave a modest smile.

"Makoto, I could fall in love with you," Veronica sighed. Makoto passed her a confused glance. "I could, but I would never let myself. You're Aeris' property."

"Huh?" Makoto asked, taken aback.

"C'mon, I know what's up with you two. You guys were like, destined for each other or something." Veronica gave a dreamy sigh. "You guys are so lucky."

"Really," Makoto stated skeptically.

"Yea, really!" Veronica looked to him sharply. "Don't you go breaking her heart now. Ya do that and dayum, I be breaking somethin' of yours."

"…" Makoto could only reply with silence and a confused expression.

--

"I had fun, did you, buddy?" Veronica asked Makoto as they walked back to the hideout.

"Sure," Makoto replied lamely.

"I'm not convinced." Veronica rolled her eyes at the boy and then laughed. "But goddamn, you scored some wicked threads."

Makoto opened his mouth to reply, but suddenly a wild monster appeared, thrashing uncontrollably and knocking Veronica to the ground.

"Ronnie!" Makoto shouted, startled to realize that his double pistols weren't on him. "Damn!"

The monster cast a damaging magic on Veronica, Makoto merely trying to fend it off with brute strength. Eventually the monster was killed, and as soon as that fact took place, Makoto rushed off to help Veronica.

To his surprise, a young man with short, spiky black hair and stunning green eyes was at Veronica's eyes, the girl completely healed of all wounds.

The new boy looked to Makoto with a grin. "This your friend?"

Makoto nodded. "Who are you?"

"I'm… I guess you could call me Holy."


End file.
